John Terry FA hearing – Fabio Capello backs Chelsea captain

Capello backs Terry as Chelsea captain arrives for third day of race-row hearing with Ferdinand

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UPDATED:

10:13 GMT, 26 September 2012

Fabio Capello has provided a witness statement for John Terry as the Chelsea captain arrived for day three of his racism hearing.

Terry is facing an FA independent regulatory hearing into a charge that he used racist language towards QPR's Anton Ferdinand in October last year.

He arrived at Wembley Stadium early on Wednesday morning as the case heads towards its conclusion.

Day three: Terry's trial will continue into Wednesday

It is believed an outcome could arrive at some point on Thursday, although there is scope for delays.

Both Capello and his former England
No 2 Franco Baldini are understood to have written testimonies praising
Terry for his work under them.

Capello resigned in February over the FA's decision to strip Terry of the captaincy.

Terry's team-mate Ashley Cole is likely to be called upon again to testify during the current hearing.

Cole gave evidence that helped
exonerate Terry in his Westminster Magistrates' Court case in July
related to the same incident, telling the court: 'We shouldn't be
sitting here.'

Flashpoint: Ferdinand (left) refused to shake Terry's hand when Chelsea and QPR met in the Premier League at Loftus Road earlier this month

Meanwhile, former Chelsea coach Ray
Wilkins, who also testified on the defender's behalf in court, has said
he is prepared to go to the FA hearing to support the player, who
announced his international retirement on Sunday.

Wilkins told ESPN: 'I called John
immediately after his decision to resign from the England team to see
how he is. We didn't talk about my attendance at the FA hearing, but I
am there for him if he needs me.

'I gave evidence on his behalf at the magistrates' court and I would do so again at the FA hearing, if they wish me to.'

The case centres around an incident during Chelsea's Barclays Premier League defeat at QPR on October 23 last year when Terry and Ferdinand clashed verbally on a number of occasions.

It set in motion a train of events that saw:

:: Terry charged with an offence by the Crown Prosecution Service :: stripped of the England captaincy :: the subsequent resignation of Fabio Capello as England manager in protest :: questions surrounding Terry's inclusion in the Euro 2012 squad and Rio Ferdinand's omission.

Terry was found not guilty in July of a racially-motivated public order offence with the prosecution unable to prove he had called Ferdinand a 'f****** black c***' as an insult.

Familiar territory: Terry heads back to Wembley on Wednesday

Terry admitted using the words, but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying.

The FA's decision to press ahead with their own charges infuriated Terry to the extent that on the eve of the disciplinary hearing he announced he was quitting international football with immediate effect, saying his position was 'untenable'.

Terry's legal team had argued the governing body's own rules dictated his acquittal in court means the case cannot proceed but the FA believed their charge was distinct from the court charge.

The panel who handed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez an eight-match ban when they found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season declared at that time that simply using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of FA rules.